Is Organic Worth the Price?

June 4, 2013

Have you wondered about whether the added cost of eating organic is worth the price? Here are some points to keep in mind. First, what soil they are grown in. Conventional agriculture essentially uses the ground to prop up the plant and adds chemical fertilizers to make it grow. These fertilizers have known toxins that burn the soil and kill the microorganisms that are essential to soil and plant health. Organic farmers, on the other hand, treat the soil as a valuable part of their business. They actually put in plants that nourish the soil while they grow and add compost which also includes nutrients.

Another aspect is weed and pest control. Conventional farmers use toxic chemical treatments to get rid of these. The consumer has to wash produce carefully to avoid ingesting them. Organic farmers use natural methods that don't contaminate your food. (You still have to wash produce.) Other things to consider are water and air pollution. Conventional farming chemicals pollute both while organic methods do not.

And finally, there are the issues of biodiversity and genetically engineered seeds. The seeds used by conventional farmers are licensed by Monsanto and are designed to resist herbicides. They can thus out-compete organic seeds leading to less biodiversity.

So, your health, the health of a precious and irreplaceable resource (soil), and impacts that last indefinitely are what is at stake. The benefits of eating organic are many.